Pink Hostels

This hostel was über cute and girly… perfect for my sister weekend getaway.
Pros
— friendly staff (but kinda slow at check-​in)
— location close to subway
— clean rooms
— lounge area in the basement
— all girls = comfortable
Cons
— Crowded kitchen area since it’s the only place you can eat
— no bedside lamps made it hard to maneuver at night with other girls sleeping
— shocking when a man enters because he lives in one of the apartments above the hostel
Also, DO NOT BRING FOOD into the rooms as advised by the staff… even if it is in an unopened package as mice will get in! This is NYC people, they are everywhere! BE SMART

With my sister visiting New York, we decided to stay in the city rather than make the trek to Jersey and back. After searching hostels in the area, we landed upon Pink in the City.
Now i’ve stayed in a few hostels and this is by far my favorite one because:
1. The staff was amazing. Super friendly, nice and very informative.
2. The actual building. located off 87^th and Amsterdam, the building has multiple floors for rooms (which are all painted pink!), a common area (equipped with a kitchen, dishes, flat screens, and lots of seating), a basement to hang out in (with another HUUUGEE flat screen, movies, computers, and games) in addition to an area filled with things to do in NYC with coupons :)
3.The fact that it was an all girls hostel. don’t get me wrong, i LOVE boys and enjoy them being around, but i found that rooming with just girls was more like living in a sorority with everyone blasting music as they got ready for the evening and gossiping about everything… which i like to take part in every once in a while :)
, Pink, PINK! everything from the sheets, comforters, to towels were pink :)
5. Bedbug free :)
only downside?
You can’t open the windows in the rooms, which makes it hotter than hates in there! Also, beware of bringing food/​drinks into the rooms… mice love it!

I stayed her for two nights last week with two other girls.
Being my first time in a hostel I didnt really know what to expect. But Pink in the City proved to be a clean, safe place to keep our stuff while on a budget.
When we arrived our check in went smoothly. The lobby was clean and decorated in pink and white. The girl at the front desk was friendly. We took the (extremely small) elevator up to our second floor shared room.
Once we got into the 6 bed room, the 3 of us took over… sorry to the girl that was already asleep at 10 PM when we noisily walked in and claimed out territory. It was a tight squeeze since we had 5 suitcases between the 3 of us (which is why it gets a minus star). The lighting was also a problem… almost impossible to get ready in the dimly lit room. But then we found an newly renovated bathroom right next to our room, that was filled with mirrors and perfect lighting:) The bed was pretty comfortable too.
Overall, my first experience at a hostel was a positive one, and I would recommend Pink in the City… unless you are traveling alone and want to fall asleep really early!

I had an overall good experience here over the three days I stayed. My main concern when choosing hostels is cleanliness (and in New York, specifically BEDBUGS UGHHHH), which was thankfully not an issue here (except for some sketchy-​looking shower floor tiles, but that’s why you bring flipflops).
Generally, I thought the service was fine too. It would’ve been nice to know that I could have locked up my luggage instead of leaving it sitting in front of the front desk all day when I arrived too early to check in, but the desk is attended 24/​7, so I wasn’t too worried.
My only problem during my stay: I knew I was going to have to move from a 2-​bed to a 4-​bed room one day, but I thought it would be Sunday when they actually had it in their system as Saturday, they just didn’t tell me when I checked in. So Saturday afternoon while I was out, they moved all my stuff all the way downstairs to back in front of the front desk. When I came back from a long day of walking around the city, I flew straight upstairs to relax, only to find my key card wouldn’t work. I went back to the desk thinking something was wrong with the card; only then did I see all my stuff. I had to trudge all the way back up with it again — which made no sense, as I was only moving down the hall.
But since that was the worst thing that happened there, I still say Pink at the City is a great place for a young woman to stay a few days — great location (near Central Park, Broadway, and in what seems like a nice neighborhood), clean, mostly secure, and staffed by nice people (who just overlook things every now and again).

This is a new, all-​female hostel. There is another location in Harlem north of Central Park. I only stayed one night and I checked in late-​ish (10:30 p.m. or so). The walk from the subway was short. At check –in I paid my $ 5 refundable cash key deposit and I got a free towel but when I got to the room (with 6 beds) there were no lockers to put stuff in. There was plenty of room though. I decided to shower at night because I needed to leave early and I didn’t want to have to wait. The bathroom had just been cleaned but the rug in front of the shower was wet and kind of gross looking. There were no hooks or shelves so there wasn’t a lot of space to set down clothes, towels, etc. There was not a lot of water pressure and the water went from too cold, to too hot, back to too cold. I didn’t see a lot of other guests around so I’m not sure why the shower was so bad but I’m glad I didn’t wait for the morning. The bed was okay but my pillow seemed to consist entirely of lumps. I’m not sure how this was possible because for all its lumps, it still didn’t provide any lift or cushioning. Oh, well. For one night and just a shower and bed it was passable but some lockers would have really helped the situation.